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Breakdown
Seam Comebacks out of Shotgun Y Trips Wk pairs a vertical seam route from the inline tight end with comeback routes from the outside receivers, creating a natural high low stretch on the cornerbacks. This is a man beater at its core, since the seam attacks any linebacker or safety trying to match the tight end vertically while the comebacks give you a built in adjustment against tight man coverage. Primary read progression starts with the seam route working the middle of the field, then works outward to the comeback on the trips side if the safety rotates over the top to help.
Defensive Reads
Watch for a single high safety cheating toward the trips side before the snap, this often signals man coverage underneath and opens up the seam route for a explosive gain. Identify if the corners are playing press or soft coverage on the outside receivers, press corners get beat easily by the comeback break while soft corners can sit on the route and jump the throw. Post snap, track the middle linebacker or nickel defender assigned to the seam, if he opens his hips late or gets caught peeking into the backfield, the window for the seam throw opens up quickly. This play struggles against a two high shell with disciplined zone drops, since the deep safeties can help over the top on the seam while corners sink under the comebacks. Look out for a user controlled defender lurking in the middle of the field on cover 2 or cover 4 looks, that lurk threat can bait a seam throw into a interception if the quarterback does not reset the read to the comeback route.
Usage Tips
Check the safety alignment before the snap, if you see a single high safety shaded toward the trips side, the seam route has a better chance to split the defense for a big gain.
Use the comeback routes against corners playing off man or soft press, since the sudden stop and turn back to the ball creates easy separation for the user throw.
Hot route the backside receiver into a quick out or slant if you diagnose zone coverage with a flat defender sitting underneath, giving you a rhythm throw instead of forcing the seam into traffic.
Pair this play with Curls or Curls Combo in the same set to keep the defense guessing between comeback breaks and vertical seam shots, forcing linebackers to hesitate on their zone drops.
Best used on second and medium to second and long, where defenses are more likely to sit in a zone shell and give the comeback routes room to work.
